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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>How to coordinate vaccination and social distancing to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Most countries have started vaccinating people against COVID-19. However, due to limited production capacities and logistical challenges it will take months/years until herd immunity is achieved. Therefore, vaccination and social distancing have to be coordinated. In this paper, we provide some insight on this topic using optimization-based control on an age-differentiated compartmental model. For real-life decision making, we investigate the impact of the planning horizon on the optimal vaccination/social distancing strategy. We find that in order to reduce social distancing in the long run, without overburdening the healthcare system, it is essential to vaccinate the people with the highest contact rates first. That is also the case if the objective is to minimize fatalities provided that the social distancing measures are sufficiently strict. However, for short-term planning it is optimal to focus on the high-risk group.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.22.20248707v2" target="_blank">How to coordinate vaccination and social distancing to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Ruxolitinib versus Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Adults with Covid-19: multicenter matched-controlled study</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: Several anti-cytokine therapies were tested in the randomized trials in hospitalized patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection (COVID-19). Both janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, baricitinib, and dexamethasone demonstrated the reduction of mortality. In this matched control study we compared dexamethasone to another JAK inhibitor, ruxolitinib. Methods: The study included 146 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and oxygen support requirement. The control group was selected 1:1 from 1355 dexamethasone-treated patients and was matched by 29 clinical and laboratory parameters predicting survival. Results: Ruxolitinib treatment in the general cohort of patients was associated with equivalent to dexamethasone mortality rate: 9,6% (95% CI 4,6-14,6%) vs 13,0% (95% CI 7,5-18,5%, superiority p=0.35, non-inferiority p=0.0137), respectively. Time to discharge without oxygen support requirement was also not different between these groups: 13 vs 11 days (p=0.13). Subgroup analysis without adjustment for multiple comparisons demonstrated reduced mortality in ruxolitnib-treated patients with febrile fever (OR 0.33, 95%CI 0.11-1.00). Except higher incidence of grade 1 thrombocytopenia (37% vs 23%, p=0.042), ruxolitinib therapy was associated with better safety profile due to reduced rate of severe cardiovascular adverse events (6.8% vs 15%, p=0.025). Conclusions: Ruxolitinib may be an alternative anti-cytokine therapy with comparable efficacy in patients with potential risks of steroid administration. Patients with febrile fever at admission may benefit from ruxolitinib administration. Funding: Ruxolitinib was obtained from Novartis through Managed Access Program (MAP).
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.20.21255662v1" target="_blank">Ruxolitinib versus Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Adults with Covid-19: multicenter matched-controlled study</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Identification of clinical features associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background To prevent infectious diseases, it is necessary to understand how they are spread and their clinical features. Early identification of risk factors and clinical features is needed to identify critically ill patients, provide suitable treatments, and prevent mortality. Methods We conducted a prospective study on COVID-19 patients referred to a tertiary hospital in Iran between March and November 2020. Of the 3008 patients (mean age 59.3 years, range 1 to 100 years), 1324 were women. We investigated COVID-19 related mortality and its association with clinical features including headache, chest pain, symptoms on CT, hospitalization, time to infection, history of neurological disorders, having a single or multiple risk factors, fever, myalgia, dizziness, seizure, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and anorexia. Findings There was a significant association between COVID-19 mortality and old age, headache, chest pain, respiratory distress, low respiratory rate, oxygen saturation less than 93%, need for a mechanical ventilator, having symptoms on CT, hospitalization, time to infection, history of hypertension, neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases and having a risk factor or multiple risk factors. In contrast, there was no significant association between mortality and gender, fever, myalgia, dizziness, seizure, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and anorexia. Interpretation Our results might help identify early symptoms related to COVID-19 and better manage patients clinically.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.19.21255715v1" target="_blank">Identification of clinical features associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Prevalence of severe adverse events in health professionals after receiving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination in Togo, March 2021</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Introduction: Covid-19 vaccines can cause adverse events (AE) that can lead to increased hesitation or fear of vaccination. This study aims at estimating the prevalence of severe adverse events (SAEs) and their associated factors among health professionals (HPs) vaccinated with COVISHIELD(TM) vaccine in Togo. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 13th to 19th, 2021 in Togo among HPs who received the first dose of vaccine. An online self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics and vaccination. SAEs were defined as one resulting in hospitalization, medical consultation, or inability to work the day following the administration of the vaccine. Regression analysis were performed to assess factors associated with SAEs. Results: A total of 1,639 HP (70.2% male) with a median age [IQR] of 32 years [27-40] participated. At least one AE was reported among 71.6% (95%CI= [69.3-73.8]). The most commonly reported AEs were pain at the injection site (91.0%), asthenia (74.3%), headache (68.7%), soreness (55.0%), and fever (47.5%). An increased libido was also reported in 3.0% of HP. Among HP who experienced AEs, 18.2% were unable to go to work the day after vaccination, 10.5% consulted a medical doctor, and 1.0% were hospitalized. The SAE prevalence was 23.8% (95%CI= [21.8-25.9]). Being &lt;30 years (aOR=5.54; p&lt;0.001), or 30-49 years (aOR=3.62; p&lt;0.001) and being female (aOR=1.97; p&lt;0.001) were associated with SAEs. Conclusion: Despite the occurrence of SAEs, current data collected in Togo about adverse events are reassuring with COVISHIELD(TM) vaccine and how they could be managed. Keywords: Severe adverse event, COVID-19, vaccine, prevalence, health professionals, Togo.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.20.21254863v1" target="_blank">Prevalence of severe adverse events in health professionals after receiving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination in Togo, March 2021</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Mixed Emotions, But Not Positive or Negative Emotions, Facilitate Legitimate Virus-Prevention Behaviors and Eudaimonic Outcomes in the Emergence of the COVID-19 Crisis</strong> -
<div>
We report four studies (N=1419) examining emotional reactions from March to April 2020, when COVID-19 exhibited exponentially increasing infections and fatalities. Specifically, we examined associations between emotions with self-reported intentions to enact virus-prevention behaviors that protect oneself from COVID-19 and eudaimonic functioning. Study 1A, 1B, and Study 2 provided naturalistic evidence that mixed emotions predicted legitimate virus-prevention behaviors and eudaimonic functioning in the United States and Singapore, and Study 2 also supported receptivity as a mediator. Finally, Study 3 provided experimental evidence that mixed emotions causally increased legitimate virus-prevention behaviors relative to neutral, positive emotion, and negative emotion conditions, whereas eudaimonic functioning was increased only relative to the neutral condition. Across all studies, positive and negative emotions were unrelated to legitimate virus-prevention behaviors, while relationships with eudaimonic functioning were inconsistent. While self-reported measures do not represent actual behaviors, the findings suggest a potential role for mixed emotions in pandemic-related outcomes.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://psyarxiv.com/ftxb7/" target="_blank">Mixed Emotions, But Not Positive or Negative Emotions, Facilitate Legitimate Virus-Prevention Behaviors and Eudaimonic Outcomes in the Emergence of the COVID-19 Crisis</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Emergence of the novel SARS-CoV-2 lineage P.4.1 and massive spread of P.2 in South Brazil</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
South Brazil has been the novel epicenter of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in 2021, accounting for the greatest number of cumulative cases and deaths (per 100 thousand inhabitants in a week) worldwide. In this study, we analyzed 340 whole genomes of SARS-CoV-2, which were sampled between April and November 2020 in 33 cities in South Brazil. We demonstrated the circulation of two novel emergent lineages, described here as P.4 and P.4.1 (provisionally termed VUI-NP13L), and seven lineages that had already been assigned (B.1.1.33, B.1.1.28, P.2, B.1.91, B.1.1.94, B.1.195 and B.1.212). P.2 and P.4.1 demonstrated massive spread from approximately September/October 2020. Constant and consistent genomic surveillance is crucial to identify newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 lineages in Brazil and to guide decision making in the Brazilian Public Healthcare System.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.14.21255429v1" target="_blank">Emergence of the novel SARS-CoV-2 lineage P.4.1 and massive spread of P.2 in South Brazil</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Simulation of aerosol and droplet spread during upper airway and gastrointestinal endoscopy</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Objective: Aerosols and droplets are the main vectors in transmission of highly contagious SARS-Cov-2. Invasive diagnostic procedures like upper airway and gastrointestinal endoscopy have been declared as aerosol generating procedures. Protection of health care workers is crucial in times of COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We simulated aerosol and droplet spread during upper airway and gastrointestinal endoscopy with and without physico-mechanical barriers using a simulation model. Results: A clear plastic drape as used for central venous access markedly reduced visualized aerosol and droplet spread during endoscopy. Conclusion: A simple and cheap drape has the potential to reduce aerosol and droplet spread during endoscopy. In terms of health care worker protection, this may be important particularly in low- or moderate-income countries.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.20.21255743v1" target="_blank">Simulation of aerosol and droplet spread during upper airway and gastrointestinal endoscopy</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Study Pre-protocol for ‘BronchStart - The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Timing, Age and Severity of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Emergency Presentations; a Multi-Centre Prospective Observational Cohort Study’</strong> -
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
<b>Background</b> Bronchiolitis (most frequently caused by Respiratory Syncytial Virus; RSV) is a common winter disease predominantly affecting children under one year of age. It is a common reason for presentations to an Emergency Department (ED) and frequently results in hospital admission, contributing to paediatric units approaching or exceeding capacity each winter. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the circulation of RSV was dramatically reduced in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Evidence from the Southern Hemisphere and other European countries suggests that as social distancing restrictions for SARS-CoV-2 are relaxed, RSV infection returns, causing delayed or even summer epidemics, with different age distributions. <b>Study question</b> The ability to track, anticipate and respond to a surge in RSV cases is critical for planning acute care delivery. There is an urgent need to understand the onset of RSV spread at the earliest opportunity. This will influence service planning, to inform clinicians whether the population at risk is a wider age range than normal, and whether there are changes in disease severity. This information is also needed to inform decision on the timing of passive immunisation of children at higher risk of hospitalisation, intensive care admission or death with RSV infection, which is a public health priority. <b>Methods and likely impact</b> This multi-centre prospective observational cohort study will use a well-established research network (Paediatric Emergency Research in the UK and Ireland, PERUKI) to report in real time cases of RSV infection in children aged under two years, through the collection of essential, but non-identifying patient information. Forty centres will gather initial data on age, index of multiple deprivation quintile, clinical features on presentation, and co-morbidities. Each case will be followed up at 7 days to identify treatment, viral diagnosis and outcome. Information be released on a weekly basis and used to support clinical decision making.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.18.21255700v1" target="_blank">Study Pre-protocol for ‘BronchStart - The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Timing, Age and Severity of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Emergency Presentations; a Multi-Centre Prospective Observational Cohort Study’</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Health Belief, Planned Behavior, or Psychological Antecedents: What predicts COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy better among the Bangladeshi Adults?</strong> -
<div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background This study aimed to determine the prevalence and investigate the constellations of psychological determinants of the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the Bangladeshi adult population utilizing the health belief model-HBM (perceived susceptibility to and severity of COVID-19, perceived benefits of and barriers to COVID-19 vaccination, and cues to action), the theory of planned behavior-TPB (attitude toward COVId-19 vaccine, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and anticipated regret), and the novel 5C psychological antecedents (confidence, constraints, complacency, calculation, and collective responsibility). We compared the predictability of these theoretical frameworks to see which framework explains the highest variance in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Methods This study adopted a cross-sectional research design. We collected data from a nationally representative sample of 1497 respondents through both online and face-to-face interviews. We employed multiple linear regression analysis to assess the predictability of each model of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Results We found a 41.1% prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among our study respondents. After controlling the effects of socio-economic, demographic, and other COVID-19 related covariates, we found that the TPB has the highest predictive power (adjusted R2=0.43), followed by the 5C psychological antecedents of vaccination (adjusted R2=0.32) and the HBM (adjusted R2=0.31) in terms of explaining total variance in the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the adults of Bangladesh. Conclusions This study provides evidence that theoretical frameworks like the HBM, the TPB, and the 5C psychological antecedents can be used to explore the psychological determinants of vaccine hesitancy, where the TBP has the highest predictability. Our findings can be used to design targeted interventions to reduce vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccine uptake.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.19.21255578v1" target="_blank">Health Belief, Planned Behavior, or Psychological Antecedents: What predicts COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy better among the Bangladeshi Adults?</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Infants have lower RT-PCR cycle threshold for SARS-CoV-2 in comparison with older children and adults</strong> -
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Background: The viral dynamics and the role of children in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 are not completely understood. Our aim was to evaluate how RT-PCR Ct values among children with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 compared with that of adult subjects. Methods: Patients (aged from 2 months to ≤18 years, and adults) with signs and symptoms of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection for less than 7 days, were prospectively enrolled in the study from May to November 2020. All participants performed RT-PCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 detection; Ct values of ORF1ab, N, and S gene-targets, and the average of all the three probes were used as surrogates of viral load. Results: Of the total of 376 participants with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection there were 21 infants, 62 children and 293 adults. The RT-PCR Ct values of children under 18 were not significantly different from that of adults, as observed by the analyzed probes (namely ORF1ab, N, and S), and by the mean of all 3 gene-targets. However, infants had significantly lower Ct values compared to children and adults (P = 0.044). Discussion: Ct values for children were not significantly different than that of adults with positive SARS-CoV-2. Interestingly, infants had even lower Ct values when compared to older children and adults. Although viral load is not the only determinant of transmission, infants may play a significant role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the community, especially if or when this population returns to regular daycare activities.
</p>
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.20.21255059v1" target="_blank">Infants have lower RT-PCR cycle threshold for SARS-CoV-2 in comparison with older children and adults</a>
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<li><strong>Corticosteroids for Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019: High Time for High Dose Clinical Trials?</strong> -
<div>
Over 3 million deaths into the COVID-19 pandemic, low dose corticosteroids are still the chief therapeutic intervention to decrease mortality in critically ill COVID-19 patients. However, the persistently high mortality rate (approximately 30%) and the global surge in cases in 2021 associated with new more contagious variants of SARS-CoV-2 underscore the urgent need to evaluate whether the current corticosteroid regimens achieve the best possible outcomes. Our review of clinical, virological, and immunological data suggest that corticosteroids reduce COVID-19 mortality more when initiated in the second or third weeks after symptom onset, after viral infectivity has waned and SARS-CoV-2 immunopathology is maximal. At this time, clinical deterioration is driven by aberrant hyperinflammation. To counteract the hyperinflammation, we present credible arguments that high dose corticosteroids, defined in this Perspective as intravenous (i.v.) methylprednisolone 500-1000 mg/day for 3-7 days or the equivalent doses of other corticosteroids, can be administered with little or no risk of worsening viral replication and with expected benefits that greatly outweigh potential harm. Since the 1970s, the strategy of administering supraphysiologic doses of i.v. methylprednisolone (termed ‘pulse’ therapy) over a short period to enhance therapeutic benefit while decreasing harmful effects has become an accepted standard of care to effectively suppress inflammation in many autoimmune and immune-mediated disorders. It is particularly useful in conditions requiring rapid immunosuppression and anti-inflammatory effect and has recently been used to control inflammation in SARS-CoV-2 related complications, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and organizing pneumonia. In aggregate, awareness of the need for more aggressive immunosuppression and lessons learned over a half-century from the successful treatment of various inflammatory disorders, provide a sound scientific and ethics rationale for expeditiously conducting high dose corticosteroid randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in critically ill patients with COVID-19.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/qvejk/" target="_blank">Corticosteroids for Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019: High Time for High Dose Clinical Trials?</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in chlorinated swimming pool water</strong> -
<div>
SARS-CoV-2 transmission remains a global problem which exerts a significant direct cost to public health. Additionally, other aspects of physical and mental health can be affected by limited access to social and exercise venues as a result of lockdowns in the community or personal reluctance due to safety concerns. Swimming pools have reopened in the UK as of April 12th, but the effect of swimming pool water on inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 has not yet been directly demonstrated. Here we demonstrate that water which adheres to UK swimming pool guidelines is sufficient to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infectious titre by at least 3 orders of magnitude.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.19.440446v1" target="_blank">Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in chlorinated swimming pool water</a>
</div></li>
<li><strong>Ultrapotent SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies with protective efficacy against newly emerged mutational variants</strong> -
<div>
Accumulating mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) protein can increase the possibility of immune escape, challenging the present COVID-19 prophylaxis and clinical interventions. Here, 3 receptor binding domain (RBD) specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), 58G6, 510A5 and 13G9, with high neutralizing potency blocking authentic SARS-CoV-2 virus displayed remarkable efficacy against authentic B.1.351 virus. Each of these 3 mAbs in combination with one neutralizing Ab recognizing non-competing epitope exhibited synergistic effect against authentic SARS-CoV-2 virus. Surprisingly, structural analysis revealed that 58G6 and 13G9, encoded by the IGHV1-58 and the IGKV3-20 germline genes, both recognized the steric region S470-495 on the RBD, overlapping the E484K mutation presented in B.1.351. Also, 58G6 directly bound to another region S450-458 in the RBD. Significantly, 58G6 and 510A5 both demonstrated prophylactic efficacy against authentic SARS-CoV-2 and B.1.351 viruses in the transgenic mice expressing human ACE2 (hACE2), protecting weight loss and reducing virus loads. These 2 ultrapotent neutralizing Abs can be promising candidates to fulfill the urgent needs for the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.19.440481v1" target="_blank">Ultrapotent SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies with protective efficacy against newly emerged mutational variants</a>
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<li><strong>Drug repurposing to face Covid-19: Celastrol, a potential leading drug capable of inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication and induced inflammation</strong> -
<div>
The global emergence of Covid-19 has caused huge human casualties. Clinical manifestations of the disease vary from asymptomatic to lethal, and the symptomatic form can be associated with cytokine storm and non-homeostatic inflammatory response. In face of the urgent demand for effective drugs to treat Covid-19, we have searched for candidate compounds using a drug repurposing approach based on in silico analysis followed by biological validation. Here we identified celastrol, a pentacyclic triterpene isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F - a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine - as one of the best compounds out of 39 repurposed drug candidates. Celastrol reverted gene expression signature from SARS-CoV-2-infected cells; bound with high-affinity energy to viral molecular targets such as main protease (Mpro) and receptor-biding domain (RBD); inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in monkey (Vero and Vero-ACE2) and human (Caco-2 and Calu-3) cell lines; and decreased interleukin-6 (IL-6) secretion in SARS-CoV-2-infected human cell lines. Interestingly, celastrol acted in a concentration-dependent manner, with undetectable signs of cytotoxicity. Therefore, celastrol is a promising lead drug candidate to treat Covid-19 due to its ability to suppress SARS-CoV-2 replication and IL-6 production in infected cells, two critical events in the pathophysiology of this disease.
</div>
<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.20.439992v1" target="_blank">Drug repurposing to face Covid-19: Celastrol, a potential leading drug capable of inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 replication and induced inflammation</a>
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<li><strong>Comparison of Mucosal and Intramuscular Immunization against SARS-CoV-2 with Replication-Defective and Replicating Single-cycle Adenovirus Vaccines</strong> -
<div>
SARS-CoV-2 enters the body at mucosal surfaces, such as the nose and lungs. These events involve a small number of virions at these mucosal barriers and are therefore a strategic point to stop a COVID-19 infection before it starts. Despite this, most vaccines against COVID-19 are being injected into the muscle where they will not generate the highest levels of mucosal protection. The vaccines that are approved for use in humans are all replication-defective (RD) mRNA, DNA, or adenovirus (Ad) vaccines that do not amplify antigen transgenes. We developed single cycle adenovirus (SC-Ad) vectors that replicate antigen genes up to 10,000-fold in human cells, but that are disabled from producing infectious Ad particles. We show here that SC-Ad expressing the full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike protein produces 100-fold more spike protein than a matched RD-Ad-Spike vector. When Ad-permissive hamsters were immunized with these vaccines by intranasal (IN) or intramuscular (IM) routes, SC-Ad produced significantly stronger antibody responses as compared to RD-Ad against the spike protein that rose over 14 weeks after one immunization. Single IN or IM immunizations generated significant antibody responses in serum and in bronchoalveolar lavages (BALs). IN priming, but not IM priming, generated HLA-restricted CD8 T cell responses in BALs. SC-Ad-Spike generated antibodies that retain binding to spike receptor binding domains (RBDs) with mutations from new viral variants. These data suggest empowering the genomes of gene-based vaccines with the ability to amplify antigen genes can increase potency. This may be particularly advantageous when applying mucosal vaccines to combat mucosal pathogens like SARS-CoV-2.
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<div class="article-link article-html-link">
🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.20.440651v1" target="_blank">Comparison of Mucosal and Intramuscular Immunization against SARS-CoV-2 with Replication-Defective and Replicating Single-cycle Adenovirus Vaccines</a>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Oestrogen Treatment for COVID-19 Symptoms</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Transdermal estradiol gel<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Hamad Medical Corporation;   Laboratoires Besins International<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Clinical Study in the Treatment of Patients With Moderate Course of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: COVID-globulin;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Microgen<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Effects of a Multi-factorial Rehabilitation Program for Healthcare Workers Suffering From Post-COVID-19 Fatigue Syndrome</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Other: Exercise<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Medical University of Vienna<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Omega-3 Oil Use in COVID-19 Patients in Qatar</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Omega 3 fatty acid<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Hamad Medical Corporation<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Immunogenicity of the Inactivated Koçak-19 Inaktif Adjuvanlı COVID-19 Vaccine Compared to Placebo</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Vaccine<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Koçak-19 Inaktif Adjuvanlı COVID-19 Vaccine 4 µg/0.5 ml Vaccine;   Biological: Koçak-19 Inaktif Adjuvanlı COVID-19 Vaccine 6 µg/0.5 ml Vaccine;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Kocak Farma<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study of Intravenous Ampion in Adult COVID-19 Patients Requiring Supplemental Oxygen</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Ampion;   Other: Saline<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Ampio Pharmaceuticals. Inc.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety and Immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cells), Inactivated in Healthy Adults Aged 18 Years and Older (COVID-19)</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cells), Inactivated;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., LTD;   Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co., Ltd<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy and Safety of Oral Immunotherapy With GcMAF in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 Pneumonia</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pneumonia<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Dietary Supplement: Saisei Maf capsules<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Dr. Spadera Lucrezia<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Efficacy of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Long COVID Syndrome</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Hyperbaric oxygen;   Procedure: Sham treatment<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Karolinska University Hospital;   Karolinska Institutet;   Karolinska Trial Alliance<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Phase 2 Study to Evaluate Biomarker Change, Efficacy, Pharmacokinetics, Safety and Tolerability of Telacebec (Q203) in Covid-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Virus Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: Telacebec;   Drug: COVID-19 Standard of care<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Qurient Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Virgin Coconut Oil as Adjunctive Therapy for Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Virgin Coconut Oil<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   University of the Philippines;   Philippine Coconut Authority;   Philippine Council for Health Research &amp; Development<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rehabilitation for Patients With Persistent Symptoms Post COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Other: Concentrated rehabilitation for patients with persistent symptoms post COVID-19<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Western Norway University of Applied Sciences;   Helse-Bergen HF<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety and Immunogenicity of Demi-dose of Two Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines in Healthy Population</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Diagnostic Test: immunogenicity after first and second dose<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Sciensano;   Mensura EDPB;   Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium;   Erasme University Hospital<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Efficacy of FES Cycling After a Severe Form of COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Person With a Severe Form of COVID-19 That Caused an Acute Distress Respiratory Syndrome Treated by Mechanical Ventilation in Intensive Care Unit<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Behavioral: Physical therapy that include a standardized cycling training with functional electrical stimulation;   Behavioral: Physical therapy that include a standardized cycling training with no additional functional electrical stimulation<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Hospices Civils de Lyon<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Phase III Clinical Study of a SARS-CoV-2 Messenger Ribonucleic Acid (mRNA) Vaccine Candidate Against COVID-19 in Population Aged 18 Years and Above</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Walvax Biotechnology Co., Ltd.;   Abogen Biosciences Co., Ltd.;   Yuxi Walvax Biotechnology Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Successful treatment of vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia (VIPIT)</strong> - Cases of unusual thrombosis and thrombocytopenia after administration of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AstraZeneca) have been reported. The term vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia (VIPIT) was coined to reflect this new phenomenon. In vitro experiments with VIPIT patient sera indicated that high dose intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) competitively inhibit the platelet activating properties of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine induced antibodies. Here, we report a case of a 62-year-old…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Antibody Affinity Governs the Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Spike/ACE2 Binding in Patient Serum</strong> - The humoral immune response plays a key role in suppressing the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2. The molecular determinants underlying the neutralization of the virus remain, however, incompletely understood. Here, we show that the ability of antibodies to disrupt the binding of the viral spike protein to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on the cell, the key molecular event initiating SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells, is controlled by the affinity of these antibodies to the viral…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A crystallography-based investigation of weak interactions for drug design against COVID-19</strong> - Interactions between proteins and small molecules play important roles in the inhibition of protein function. However, a lack of proper knowledge about non-covalent interactions can act as a barrier towards gaining a complete understanding of the factors that control these associations. To find effective molecules for COVID-19 inhibition, we have quantitatively investigated 143 X-ray crystal structures of the SARS-CoV-2 M^(pro) protein of coronavirus with covalently or non-covalently bound small…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The role of IL-6 and IL-6 blockade in COVID-19</strong> - INTRODUCTION: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induces a dysregulated hyperinflammatory response.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Interleukin-6: obstacles to targeting a complex cytokine in critical illness</strong> - Circulating concentrations of the pleiotropic cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) are known to be increased in pro-inflammatory critical care syndromes, such as sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Elevations in serum IL-6 concentrations in patients with severe COVID-19 have led to renewed interest in the cytokine as a therapeutic target. However, although the pro-inflammatory properties of IL-6 are widely known, the cytokine also has a series of important physiological and…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Interactions between SARS coronavirus 2 papain-like protease and immune system: a potential drug target for the treatment of COVID-19</strong> - Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a large family of respiratory viruses which can cause mild to moderate upper respiratory tract infections. Recently, new coronavirus named as Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified which is a major threat to public health. Innate immune responses play a vital role in a host’s defense against viruses. Interestingly, CoVs have evolved elaborate strategies to evade the complex system of sensors and signaling molecules to suppress…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Acute Cardiac Injury in Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Other Viral Infections-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis</strong> - CONCLUSIONS: Acute cardiac injury may be associated with whether the virus binds angiotensin-converting enzyme-2. Acute cardiac injury occurs in half of critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 patients, but only 12% of patients infected by viruses that do not bind to angiotensin-converting enzyme-2.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Multifunctional Peptide From Bacillus Fermented Soybean for Effective Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 S1 Receptor Binding Domain and Modulation of Toll Like Receptor 4: A Molecular Docking Study</strong> - Fermented soybean products are traditionally consumed and popular in many Asian countries and the northeastern part of India. To search for potential agents for the interruption of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Spike glycoprotein 1 (S1) and human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor interactions, the in silico antiviral prospective of peptides identified from the proteome of kinema was investigated. Soybean was fermented using Bacillus licheniformis…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Virtual screening by targeting proteolytic sites of furin and TMPRSS2 to propose potential compounds obstructing the entry of SARS-CoV-2 virus into human host cells</strong> - BACKGROUND AND AIM: The year 2020 begins with the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that cause the disease COVID-19, and continue till today. As of March 23, 2021, the outbreak has infected 124,313,054 worldwide with a total death of 2,735,707. The use of traditional medicines as an adjuvant therapy with western drugs can lower the fatality rate due to the COVID-19. Therefore, in silico molecular docking study was performed to search potential…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>MicroLet-7b Regulates Neutrophil Function and Dampens Neutrophilic Inflammation by Suppressing the Canonical TLR4/NF-κB Pathway</strong> - Sepsis is a heterogeneous syndrome caused by a dysregulated host response during the process of infection. Neutrophils are involved in the development of sepsis due to their essential role in host defense. COVID-19 is a viral sepsis. Disfunction of neutrophils in sepsis has been described in previous studies, however, little is known about the role of microRNA-let-7b (miR-let-7b), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activity in neutrophils and how they participate in…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Possible Potential Effects of Honey and Its Main Components Against Covid-19 Infection</strong> - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral pneumonia that is spreading rapidly worldwide. The main feature of this disease is a severe acute respiratory syndrome and caused by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). There are several unknowns about the pathogenesis and therapeutically treatment of COVID-19 infection. In addition, available treatment protocols have not been effective in managing COVID-19 infection. It is proposed that natural anti-oxidants such as lemon, green tea, saffron, curcuma…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Discovery of anti-MERS-CoV small covalent inhibitors through pharmacophore modeling, covalent docking and molecular dynamics simulation</strong> - Middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a fatal pathogen that poses a serious health risk worldwide and especially in the middle east countries. Targeting the MERS-CoV 3-chymotrypsin-like cysteine protease (3CL^(pro)) with small covalent inhibitors is a significant approach to inhibit replication of the virus. The present work includes generating a pharmacophore model based on the X-ray crystal structures of MERS-CoV 3CL^(pro) in complex with two covalently bound inhibitors….</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>In-silico pharmacophoric and molecular docking-based drug discovery against the Main Protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2, a causative agent COVID-19</strong> - COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) caused by a novel ‘SARS-CoV-2’ virus resulted in public health emergencies across the world. An effective vaccine to cure this virus is not yet available, thus requires concerted efforts at various scales. In this study, we employed Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) based approach to identify the drug-like compounds - inhibiting the replication of the main protease (M^(pro)) of SARS-CoV-2. Our database search using an online tool “ZINC pharmer” retrieved ~1500…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Babaodan controls excessive immune responses and may represent a cytokine-targeted agent suitable for COVID-19 treatment</strong> - It has become evident that the actions of pro-inflammatory cytokines and/or the development of a cytokine storm are responsible for the occurrence of severe COVID-19 during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although immunomodulatory mechanisms vary among viruses, the activation of multiple TLRs that occurs primarily through the recruitment of adapter proteins such as MyD88 and TRIF contributes to the induction of a cytokine storm. Based on this, controlling the robust production of pro-inflammatory…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Antiviral strategies should focus on stimulating the biosynthesis of heparan sulfates, not their inhibition</strong> - Antiviral strategies for viruses that utilize proteoglycan core proteins (syndecans and glypicans) as receptors should focus on heparan sulfate (HS) biosynthesis rather than on inhibition of these sugar chains. Here, we show that heparin and certain xylosides, which exhibit in vitro viral entry inhibitory properties against HSV-1, HSV-2, HPV-16, HPV-31, HVB, HVC, HIV-1, HTLV-1, SARS-CoV-2, HCMV, DENV-1, and DENV-2, stimulated HS biosynthesis at the cell surface 2- to 3-fold for heparin and up to…</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Compositions and methods for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) infection</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU321590214">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>5-(4-TERT-BUTOXY PHENYL)-3-(4N-OCTYLOXYPHENYL)-4,5-DIHYDROISOXAZOLE MOLECULE (C-I): A PROMISING DRUG FOR SARS-COV-2 (TARGET I) AND BLOOD CANCER (TARGET II)</strong> - The present invention relates to a method ofmolecular docking of crystalline compound (C-I) with SARS-COV 2 proteins and its repurposing with proteins of blood cancer, comprising the steps of ; employing an algorithmto carry molecular docking calculations of the crystalized compound (C-I); studying the compound computationally to understand the effect of binding groups with the atoms of the amino acids on at least four target proteins of SARS-COV 2; downloading the structure of the proteins; removing water molecules, co enzymes and inhibitors attached to the enzymes; drawing the structure using Chem Sketch software; converting the mol file into a PDB file; using crystalized compound (C-I) for comparative and drug repurposing with two other mutated proteins; docking compound into the groove of the proteins; saving format of docked molecules retrieved; and filtering and docking the best docked results. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN320884617">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>AQUEOUS ZINC OXIDE NANOSPRAY COMPOSITIONS</strong> - Disclosed herein is aqueous zinc oxide nano spray compositions comprising zinc oxide nanoparticles and a synthetic surfactant for controlling the spread of Covid-19 virus. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=IN321836709">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>一种肝素类药物组合物、喷鼻剂及其制备方法及应用</strong> - 本发明公开了一种肝素类药物组合物、喷鼻剂及其制备方法及应用。该肝素类药物组合物包括肝素钠和阿比朵尔。本发明中的肝素类药物组合物首次采用肝素钠和阿比朵尔联合使用，普通肝素钠联合1μM/L以上的阿比朵尔病毒抑制效率显著高于单独普通肝素钠或单独阿比多尔组（p&lt;0.05）。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN321712860">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>USING CLINICAL ONTOLOGIES TO BUILD KNOWLEDGE BASED CLINICAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) WITH THE ADOPTION OF TELECONFERENCING FOR THE PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRES/SATELLITE CLINICS OF ROYAL OMAN POLICE IN SULTANATE OF OMAN</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU320796026">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>抗SARS-COV-2中和抗体</strong> - 本公开提供了针对SARS‑COV‑2的新颖中和抗体和其抗原结合片段。还提供了包括其的药物组合物和试剂盒以及其用途。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN321712812">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Peptides and their use in diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> - - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU319943278">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Method and compositions for treating coronavirus infection</strong> - A method of treating viral infection, such as viral infection caused by a virus of the Coronaviridae family, is provided. A composition having at least oleandrin is used to treat viral infection. - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=AU319943054">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">**一种4-肟-5<code>-（2-甲基丙酰基）尿苷的制备方法** - 本发明公开了一种4‑肟‑5</code>‑（2‑甲基丙酰基）尿苷的制备方法，包括：S1：在酸存在条件下，使得化合物1和2,2‑二甲氧基丙烷在有机溶剂中反应得到化合物2；S2：在碱存在条件下，使得化合物2在有机溶剂中反应得到化合物3；S3：在羟胺水溶液存在条件下使化合物3在有机溶剂中反应得到化合物4；S4：在酸存在条件下使化合物4在有机溶剂中反应得到化合物I。本发明制备得到的结晶性能良好的固体，且制备条件简单，转化率以及原子经济性好。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN321712529">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>一种COVID-19假病毒及其制备方法和用途</strong> - 本发明涉及生物技术领域，特别是涉及一种COVID‑19假病毒及其制备方法和用途本发明，所述COVID‑19假病毒由外壳蛋白质粒与辅助质粒经病毒包装而成，所述外壳蛋白质粒包括表达COVID‑19 S蛋白的质粒、表达COVID‑19 M蛋白的质粒和表达COVID‑19 E蛋白的质粒。本发明的COVID‑19假病毒采用三质粒系统包装，以S/M/E蛋白替代表达VSV‑G蛋白，比仅含有S蛋白的假病毒感染能力更强、灵敏度更高。而且，COVID‑19假病毒携带两种荧光报告基团，不同的荧光报告基团可应用于不同的场景，使得COVID‑19假病毒应用时更简便。 - <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=CN321712520">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Netanyahu—on Trial and Trying to Form a Government—Is Promoting His Own Big Lie</strong> - Is this finally the moment when a fractured opposition will unite to force the Prime Minister out of office? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/netanyahu-on-trial-and-trying-to-form-a-government-is-promoting-his-own-big-lie">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How COVID-19 Surged Again in India</strong> - A conversation about the crisis in Mumbai and the risks of rapid reopening. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-covid-19-surged-again-in-india">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Remembering Walter Mondale</strong> - The former Vice-President and Presidential candidate told voters the hard and politically costly truths they didn’t want to hear. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/postscript/remembering-walter-mondale">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Sorrow and Relief in Minneapolis</strong> - After Derek Chauvin was convicted of George Floyd’s murder, people hugged and wept. But it was not a joyful scene; it was something else. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/the-sorrow-and-relief-in-minneapolis">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Significance of the Derek Chauvin Verdict</strong> - The New Yorker’s Jelani Cobb discusses the trial’s outcome. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-significance-of-the-derek-chauvin-verdict">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>This stunning timelapse shows the megadrought’s toll on the West’s largest reservoir</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pvej80tGjt0_9wj2a0OzPGKJFP0=/491x0:3439x2211/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69161670/1228176572.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Lake Mead marina, south of Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 23, 2020. | Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Lake Mead’s levels have dropped significantly since 1985, a bad omen for the regions that depend on it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LdApNi">
Just how bad is the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/14/22382445/california-wildfires-2021-drought-megadrought-climate-change-gavin-newsom-new-mexico">drought</a> in the Western US? The shrinking of Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir, is a troubling indicator.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UjYYZa">
The massive man-made lake, which straddles the border of Arizona and Nevada, is now only at <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/weekly.pdf">39 percent</a> of its full capacity, down from <a href="http://www.crc.nv.gov/files.php/hydrology/a77d1b946d99872ef2a439b95dc7c558/CRC-Hydrology-Report-April-2020">44 percent</a> in April 2020. That’s equivalent to a 10-foot drop in the water level, according to the latest data from the <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/24mo/2021/APR21.pdf">Bureau of Reclamation</a>. Which means mandatory restrictions on the amount of water surrounding states draw from Lake Mead could be triggered in the next few months.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AgP6Wc">
“This year will be really telling because it will provide a stress test of the newest policies that we thought were stricter but likely will need to be even more strict in the future,” said Elizabeth Koebele, a political scientist at the University of Nevada who focuses on water policy.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ubydbB">
The impending restrictions have been a long time coming — the reservoir started contracting well before 2020, as Vox writer Brad Plumer <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/5/23/11736340/lake-mead-water-drought-southwest">explained</a> in 2016. The latest drought in the West is but one episode in a two-decade <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/3/13/22324813/drought-california-snow-rain-west-colorado-wildfire-farms-water-climate-change">megadrought</a>, and it has taken a<strong> </strong>toll on the Colorado River, which feeds Lake Mead.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IWaZI3">
The animated map below, from Google Earth’s new <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-15/google-earth-now-shows-decades-of-climate-change-in-seconds">Timelapse feature</a>, shows just how much the reservoir’s boundaries have shriveled since 1984.
</p>
<div id="PXvuAb">
</div>
<h3 id="Ea9Sbm">
Lake Mead’s dropping water levels will affect Arizona’s water supply as soon as next year
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GOjWYz">
Lake Mead’s<strong> </strong>recent contractions are concerning<strong> </strong>because the body supplies water to <a href="https://www.nps.gov/lake/learn/nature/overview-of-lake-mead.htm">25 million</a> people across Arizona, Nevada, California, and Mexico. Built in <a href="https://www.nps.gov/lake/learn/nature/overview-of-lake-mead.htm">1936</a>, the Hoover Dam and the attached reservoir have shaped the geography of the West, making life in Las Vegas and Los Angeles possible.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wN5w09">
As the lake level has dropped, states have so far managed to avoid reaching the point where mandatory water restrictions kick in, but it looks like they are coming soon.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mfCwPl">
The Bureau of Reclamation keeps tabs on the lake by measuring its height at Hoover Dam. There, the water level is currently at<strong> </strong>1,081 feet,<strong> </strong>and the Bureau <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/24mo/2021/APR21.pdf">projects</a> it will drop below<strong> </strong>1,075 feet as soon as June. After it crosses that threshold, the federal government will <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-colorado-lakes-water-shortages-colorado-river-09302e61c5e0ef051f50459f3dcb771f?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=122203206&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8voRGruZeTgD_Z-2CJl2HS-TVQsp20WysFGpeJHaLm8OHLWdTPD8yb1qkgA9d3kZ_0wHHL0Yot1_dNbCZOdFyECRg8NQ">declare</a> an official water shortage. Under a Drought Contingency Plan agreed upon by the affected states in 2019, some states will start to see big cuts in how much water they receive from Lake Mead starting in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-colorado-lakes-water-shortages-colorado-river-09302e61c5e0ef051f50459f3dcb771f?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=122203206&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8voRGruZeTgD_Z-2CJl2HS-TVQsp20WysFGpeJHaLm8OHLWdTPD8yb1qkgA9d3kZ_0wHHL0Yot1_dNbCZOdFyECRg8NQ">2022</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YYTbPh">
Based on the pecking order from <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/5/23/11736340/lake-mead-water-drought-southwest">past negotiations</a>, Arizona will have the biggest reductions in allocation from Lake Mead while California won’t face restrictions until the reservoir drops below <a href="https://westernresourceadvocates.org/blog/collaboration-is-key-as-crucial-drought-contingency-plan-to-protect-the-colorado-river-is-enacted/#:~:text=The%20Drought%20Contingency%20Plan%20allows%20the%20Lower%20Basin%20to%20voluntarily,the%20entire%20Colorado%20River%20Basin.&amp;text=In%20the%20short%20term%2C%20the,users%20in%20the%20Lower%20Basin.">1,045 feet</a>. The agreement dictates that Arizona will have one-third of its water supply from the reservoir cut, Ian James <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2021/04/06/colorado-river-drought-deepens-arizona-prepares-water-cutbacks/4808587001/">reported</a> for AZ Central. Farmers will be among the <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2021/04/06/colorado-river-drought-deepens-arizona-prepares-water-cutbacks/4808587001/">most impacted</a>, according to the state’s drought plan, but they will be allowed to use groundwater resources to compensate to some extent.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hEOjl3">
As a result of the preemptive drought planning, states have already prepared for the inevitable point when they will have to endure such cuts, said Koebele. “The basin has become increasingly collaborative over time, and people are thinking about it as, ‘It’s not if this happens, it’s when it happens and how do we best handle it.’”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HNtk8f">
Generally speaking, she said, cities will be relatively unaffected by any cuts for now, whereas farms, which consume the vast majority of the basin’s water, will have to start investing in technologies like drip irrigation to become more efficient.
</p>
<h3 id="g6w2i9">
Climate change poses a serious long-term threat to the millions who depend on the Colorado River
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8gpHMH">
The imminent resource crunch is just the beginning of the problems for the millions of people in Arizona, Nevada, California, and Mexico who depend on Lake Mead and the Colorado River for their water.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AhkBOs">
Rising global temperatures are expected to bring more frequent and more intense droughts to the Southwest, according to the latest <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/25/">National Climate Assessment</a>, which was authored by 13 US federal agencies in 2018. Climate change is also increasing the likelihood of long-term megadroughts like the one we are seeing now.
</p>
<aside id="T93evF">
<div>
</div>
</aside>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9uiWTP">
In a <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6483/1252.full">2020 study</a> published in <em>Science</em>, US Geological Survey researchers found that warming will reduce the flow of the upper Colorado River by 14 to 26 percent by mid-century under a moderate climate action scenario.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oLKoQh">
“Climate change is really severely impacting the basin,” said Koebele. Rising heat increases evaporation, she explained, “Even when we get a good snowpack, if the soil is super dry we can see really big reductions in run-off.” That means less precipitation from the mountains ultimately makes it to the river.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="03eMX1">
To adjust to an increasingly water-scarce future, basin states and stakeholders are starting to negotiate a post-2026 deal, which will set the framework for the coming decades. In the meantime, cities and farms will need to continue to find ways to make their water use more efficient. Arizona is even considering building a <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2021/04/06/colorado-river-drought-deepens-arizona-prepares-water-cutbacks/4808587001/">desalination plant</a> with Mexico to import water from the sea.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GSrY7W">
“We are going to hit a peak with efficiency and conservation, or hit a limit eventually, but there is still more to do there,” Koebele said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kCZ6Ru">
As for the coming year after Lake Mead drops below 1,075 feet, it will be the first stress test for states as they collaborate to conserve Lake Mead’s water for the future.
</p></li>
<li><strong>Germany contained Covid-19. Politics brought it back.</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="A woman in a mask and spring clothing walks through an outdoor market area, with vendors and crowds nearby." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WGsVA86mEIT0EUMeRHGLje6pFI0=/333x0:3000x2000/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69161555/202102_Germany_through_the_pandemic_Jacobia_Dahm_53b.0.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
In Hermannplatz, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Berlin, wearing masks is mandatory in crowded areas.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Germany was returning to normal last summer. Then Covid-19 surged.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jKRIza">
Last summer in Berlin, Christine Wagner could safely do something Covid-19 prevented much of the world’s population from doing: go to a movie theater.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n27SkI">
The possibility of strangers sitting together, indoors, for hours, taking off masks to eat popcorn and other snacks, led even big chains like AMC to shut down for some time in the US. But in Germany, things were different: The virus was under enough control for the country to reopen with some social distancing and masking rules. So Wagner could go out — and indoors — with her friends.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TMow8x">
“Everyone was free,” Wagner, the head of pandemic communication and strategy at a local German health department, told me. “We could go out to travel, meet friends. … It was like normal life.”
</p>
<div class="c-float-right">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9jceQvWHN8prcqoXq36u3HrCopY=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456132/202102_Germany_through_the_pandemic_Jacobia_Dahm_4.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Dr. Christine Wagner, the head of the Covid-19 task force of the health office in Berlin.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V0xbk8">
That summer, the streets of Berlin and other German cities were busy. Foot traffic at retail outlets hovered around pre-pandemic levels, according to <a href="https://www.google.com/covid19/mobility/">Google’s mobility data</a>. The number of reservations to dine out actually increased at times compared to 2019, based on the online reservation app OpenTable’s <a href="https://www.opentable.com/state-of-industry">restaurant data</a>. In hospitals, doctors <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/weekly-hospital-admissions-covid?country=~DEU">saw way fewer Covid-19 patients than a few months before</a>: In a country of roughly 80 million people, new cases had <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer?zoomToSelection=true&amp;time=7..429&amp;pickerSort=asc&amp;pickerMetric=location&amp;Metric=Confirmed+cases&amp;Interval=7-day+rolling+average&amp;Relative+to+Population=false&amp;Align+outbreaks=false&amp;country=DEU~EuropeanUnion">dropped</a> into the hundreds per day — half the daily rate of new cases in the European Union and United Kingdom last summer, and 95 percent less than the United States.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ifm1r2">
Today, Germany’s streets are emptier. Few people trickle along the sidewalks, and even fewer enter indoor establishments, as many of the businesses Germans could visit last summer have closed down. Dining out across the country has <a href="https://www.opentable.com/state-of-industry">dropped</a> nearly 99 percent compared to before the pandemic. Trips to retail and recreation outlets are now down around 38 percent compared to pre-pandemic times, according to <a href="https://www.gstatic.com/covid19/mobility/2021-04-16_DE_Mobility_Report_en-GB.pdf">Google’s mobility data</a>. <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer?zoomToSelection=true&amp;time=2020-02-01..latest&amp;pickerSort=asc&amp;pickerMetric=location&amp;Metric=Confirmed+cases&amp;Interval=7-day+rolling+average&amp;Relative+to+Population=false&amp;Align+outbreaks=false&amp;country=DEU~EuropeanUnion">Daily new Covid-19 cases</a> are below the second wave’s peak over Christmas 2020 but remain high — and have recently risen in Germany’s third wave.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WH671s">
“The only thing I do with other people is work in the intensive care ward, treating patients sick with Covid,” Petra Dickmann, a doctor and researcher at Jena University Hospital, told me. “There’s effectively no private life.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z1K0Dw">
In the span of a few months, Germany has gone from a shining example of a country that rallied the public behind a Covid-19 strategy to a cautionary tale about what can happen when that strategy falls apart.
</p>
<div class="c-wide-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/moVmJbacgVRB3nwfSqmVlBZHe4Q=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456140/202102_Germany_through_the_pandemic_Jacobia_Dahm_59.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Jena, a city of around 110,000, was the first in Germany to mandate mask-wearing, early in the pandemic.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-BgsXOBcydkwGzmgznGU31_7MHI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456161/202102_Germany_through_the_pandemic_Jacobia_Dahm_57.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Germany’s unified public health messaging early in the pandemic saved lives, but then fell prey to the country’s fractured politics.
</figcaption>
</figure></div></li>
</ul>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V3OJQj">
No country has had a perfect response to Covid-19. But nations around the world took steps to successfully limit the pandemic’s damage. In this series, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22381700/pandemic-playbook">the Pandemic Playbook</a>, Vox is exploring the victories and setbacks in six places, including Germany, where a summer of virus suppression eventually gave way to fall, winter, and now spring waves. Unified, clear public health communication saved lives — but as the months dragged on, it was no match for shifting national politics, a fragmented system of government, and a public so tired of the pandemic that they came up with a word for the exhaustion: “coronamüde.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tc6x7w">
Germany still <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer?zoomToSelection=true&amp;time=2020-02-15..latest&amp;pickerSort=asc&amp;pickerMetric=location&amp;Metric=Confirmed+deaths&amp;Interval=Cumulative&amp;Relative+to+Population=true&amp;Align+outbreaks=false&amp;country=DEU~EuropeanUnion~European+Union~USA">reports</a> about two-thirds the Covid-19 deaths per capita as the rest of the EU, and about half the per capita death toll of the US. But its lead has shrunk over time, and at some points in the past few months, the country has reported more deaths relative to its population than either the EU or the US.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lT0aUG">
So what happened? Germany’s federalist system — in broad strokes, similar to the US’s division between federal and state governments — allowed discord among the country’s leaders to have a major impact on the country’s response, slowing down major decisions. Politics played a growing role as well: In 2018, well before the pandemic, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced she would retire in 2021; the political jostling to replace her featured politicians trying to draw contrasts, often with a less cautious approach to Covid-19 than Merkel’s.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Kj65m5">
All of this turned a nationwide response that was once marked by unity into one that was fragmented, dividing both the public and its leaders.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lsAQhO">
“It was very much complacency,” Ilona Kickbusch, a political scientist focused on global health at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, told me. “There was a feeling that we’ll get through this relatively quickly. Many, many countries made that mistake — they thought this pandemic response would be a question of three to six months, but it’s turning out to be between 18 months and two to three years.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="s198f0">
Germany’s experience during the coronavirus pandemic shows how a country can unite behind a single public health message and mission. But it also shows how fragile that victory can be — and how quickly an initial success can collapse once something goes wrong.
</p>
<h3 id="kzz8bt">
Germany was initially united on Covid-19
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zmQee9">
Merkel’s first major speech on Covid-19 could be summarized in three words: “Es ist ernst.” <em>This is serious.</em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RXdpCb">
With the Reichstag parliamentary building and German and EU flags behind her, Merkel delivered a speech in her standard, matter-of-fact terms. “Take it seriously,” she <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/angela-merkel-nails-coronavirus-speech-unlike-trump.html">urged</a>. “Since German unification — no, since the Second World War — no challenge to our nation has ever demanded such a degree of common and united action.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yIonc8">
In my interviews with people in Germany, they all described tuning in to Merkel’s speech. It was even a family affair. “We were all sitting in front of the TV, listening to her,” Klaus Wälde, an economist who’s done Covid-19 research at the Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz, told me.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oXIv1eCLVqO1lysxTdVnL7Ms704=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456170/GettyImages_1207620964.jpg"/> <cite>Steffen Kugler/Bundesregierung/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the nation about the Covid-19 pandemic on March 18, 2020.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="l8rHVH">
Merkel knew what she was doing. A scientist herself, with a doctorate in quantum chemistry, she explained the need for open communication on scientific and public health issues: “This is part of an open democracy: that we make political decisions transparent, and explain them, that we establish and communicate our actions as well as possible, so that it becomes relatable.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="s2sbGh">
She would continue to deliver these direct messages, breaking down what was going on and why Germany needed to take action. In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22SQVZ4CeXA">another moment that went viral</a> worldwide, Merkel explained the epidemiological concept of a pathogen’s reproductive number, or its R0, used by scientists to measure a virus’s potential spread. She warned that letting the virus spread at even a 10 or 20 percent higher rate could doom the country’s health care system months earlier than would otherwise be the case.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZgjCw9">
The message trickled down to the local level. Cities and states were eager to avoid the horrors <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/3/10/21171217/coronavirus-covid-19-italy-hospitals">reported</a> at the time in Italy, where hospitals were overwhelmed and death rates were high.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9wOlJh">
One of those places was Jena, a city of around 110,000 located in the southern part of former East Germany. It had a major university hospital that left it well-positioned to confront the pandemic. In March, the Jena University Hospital made a crucial decision: It <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.02.20187021v2">required</a> staff involved in patient care to wear masks, well before mask mandates became the norm outside of East Asia. It subsequently found that masks sharply decreased Covid-19 infections among health care workers.
</p>
<div class="c-float-right c-float-hang">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/e88DadABUw5GQ2puMTORvmrS48A=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22457347/jena_germany_locator_map_2.jpg"/> <cite>Christina Animashaun/Vox</cite>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Hmw2q4">
It wasn’t perfect evidence — certainly not a gold-standard randomized controlled trial — but it was good enough during an emergency, and public health officials took it to Jena Mayor Thomas Nitzsche.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yMk0cx">
“In a pandemic, you cannot wait for the evidence,” Mathias Pletz, director of the Institute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control and a doctor at Jena University Hospital, told me. “Sometimes, you have to make pragmatic decisions.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9flpL0">
The mayor embraced the idea of masks. He told me he knew he wanted to get ahead of Covid-19. So he and his team devised what was in the spring a solution untried in Germany: a mask mandate.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VdV562">
Nitzsche’s decision, announced on March 30, was not without risks. As in the US and other parts of the world, there were concerns across Germany about shortages of protective equipment, including masks, for health care workers. Some worried the public would reject a mask mandate as a violation of their freedoms.
</p>
<div class="c-wide-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OEe7WiUCje7gE7MgrrKI-r5mYJ8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456176/202102_Germany_through_the_pandemic_Jacobia_Dahm_155.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
The mayor of Jena, Thomas Nitzsche, implemented a mask mandate early on during the pandemic.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<div class="c-image-grid">
<div class="c-image-grid__item">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6DKP2KpLqkpfFKiD5xabNWUya3A=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456188/202102_Germany_through_the_pandemic_Jacobia_Dahm_89.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Petra Dickmann, an intensive care doctor with a focus on public health, helped Jena with risk communication during the early stages of the city’s pandemic response.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<div class="c-image-grid__item">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SpDPWblCiXXVADuZGhMBwKkntXw=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456185/202102_Germany_through_the_pandemic_Jacobia_Dahm_201.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Mathias Pletz, director of the Institute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control and a doctor at Jena University Hospital, has been a key member of the city’s Covid-19 task force.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tOQbYV">
Nitzsche knew the key to avoiding both these problems would likely come down to how the city’s leaders told the public about the policy. The government would need to transparently communicate the benefits of masks while acknowledging the downsides: Yes, they can be uncomfortable, but masks could flatten the curve, save your family and neighbors, and get life back to normal quicker. And to avoid a run on surgical masks, the local government would emphasize the value of cloth coverings, and encourage people to make masks not just for themselves but for others, too.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qAiq4n">
“This took a lot of arguing and a lot of information campaigning,” Nitzsche said. “It’s very important to do this together <em>with</em> the people and not <em>on</em> the people. They need to understand. They need to accept. They need to intrinsically want to participate. Then it can work.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="J3WC54">
The city took a week before the mandate went into effect to persuade the public through its “Jena zeigt Maske” campaign. The local government blanketed public streets and walls with posters encouraging people to make and wear masks. City officials appeared on local and national media to explain their thinking and to push everyone to take the mandate seriously. Nitzsche posted his own messages on social media and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNr_eWEWE-M">YouTube</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7ZG57h">
The city was also helped by two factors: The university hospital, a local economic engine, made the population more receptive to public health action. And the national media took a deep interest in Jena’s first-in-the-country experiment, giving the city’s campaign free publicity.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rMr7ac">
When the mandate took effect in April, Nitzsche was at first surprised, then relieved. It seemed to work. People quickly and eagerly adopted cloth coverings. In public, mask use was nearly universal, as documented by media outlets in videos and photos that proliferated across the country.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Pu4dA0">
Then the numbers came in: Jena was successfully keeping its curve flat. As a <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/dp13319.pdf">study</a> by Wälde and three other researchers for the nonprofit institute IZA in June 2020 found, the difference between actual coronavirus cases in Jena and the number estimated without a mask mandate, as predicted by a mathematical model, widened over time. After 20 days, the level of Covid-19 cases was 23 percent below the predicted level.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QehiYmPokKNeMRVIJvd5I-XbdH8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22457463/jena_mask_mandate_chart_.jpg"/> <cite>Christina Animashaun/Vox</cite>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Z8cvAc">
Nitzsche began receiving calls from his peers who saw the results in Jena: How did you persuade people? How did you get masks to the public? What were the challenges?
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kqfUUq">
By the end of April, each of Germany’s 16 states <a href="https://de.usembassy.gov/german-mask-regulations-state-by-state/">made</a> masks compulsory. (By then, only seven states in the US <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/20/us/states-that-require-masks-trnd/index.html">had mandated masks</a>; the total would never climb <a href="https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2020/states-mask-mandates-coronavirus.html">above 39</a>.)
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="w0z9Mh">
Wälde’s study also found the nationwide adoption of mask mandates worked: The policies “reduced the cumulative number of registered Covid-19 cases between 2.3% and 13% over a period of 10 days after they became compulsory” and reduced “the daily growth rate of reported infections by around 40%.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2YKMYK">
Germany’s quick adoption of mask mandates shows what can happen in a united country. Germany’s federalist system, like the US’s, splits governing powers along local and state channels — a structure built, in part, to safeguard the former Third Reich against the risk of a takeover by a tyrannical leader.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zvwaP3">
In good times, the system enabled local experiments, like Jena’s mask mandate.<strong> </strong>With the public on board and public officials following Merkel’s lead, one city’s success could spread to the entire country in just a few weeks’ time.
</p>
<div class="c-wide-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2u6Gpiqqm0Gv9WFOS0-9rztCC1A=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456245/202102_Germany_through_the_pandemic_Jacobia_Dahm_131.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
A Red Cross rapid testing site located in the beer garden of a hotel in Jena.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9vKcYG">
By midsummer, as the US saw its second surge of the coronavirus, Germany <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer?zoomToSelection=true&amp;time=2019-12-31..latest&amp;pickerSort=asc&amp;pickerMetric=location&amp;Metric=Confirmed+deaths&amp;Interval=7-day+rolling+average&amp;Relative+to+Population=true&amp;Align+outbreaks=false&amp;country=DEU~USA~EuropeanUnion">reported</a> less than 5 percent the Covid-19 deaths per day as America. It was a culmination of its quick embrace of mask mandates, but also of other efforts: a lengthy lockdown <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52557718">lasting until early May</a>, a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-death-rate.html">scaled-up testing and tracing system</a> that caught outbreaks before they exploded out of control, and a generally cautious public. Merkel pushed to take the pandemic seriously, and Germany did so with a range of actions.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SbU932">
These kinds of numbers, enabled by the spirit of collective action, allowed Germany to open for the later parts of the summer. The warmer weather helped, as people were pushed outdoors and the virus struggled to spread in the open air and extra heat and humidity. But the change of seasons clearly wasn’t enough on its own. While the US suffered a unique second wave last summer, Germans had flattened the curve to the point that they could go back to restaurants and movie theaters without worrying so much about the coronavirus.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hxqk5j">
“The first wave was managed quite well,” Clemens Wendtner, a doctor and researcher affiliated with Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, told me. “There was a very close interaction between scientists, physicians, and politicians. All of these things were coordinated.” In <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/21366624/trump-covid-coronavirus-pandemic-failure">contrast to the US</a>, he added, “we faced the facts. We knew exactly what was going on. No one was denying anything.”
</p>
<h3 id="hbxq0s">
Over time, Germany became more fragmented
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XBQ6JY">
In September, after Germany’s summer of freedom, Oktoberfest arrived. Munich’s iconic festival was canceled, but some beer halls around Germany <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2020/09/24/oktoberfest-german-festival-takes-new-form-amid-covid-19-pandemic/5758994002/">held their own celebrations</a>. Organizers claimed the gatherings were regulated with masking and social distancing requirements.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QrZOQ0">
But in reality, many Germans came together, maskless, by the dozens in indoor spaces, sitting tightly across long tables as they drank beer, yelled, and laughed — spitting all over each other particles that can carry the coronavirus and transmit the disease.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BjpzK1">
It was emblematic of the kind of freedom, beyond Oktoberfest, that Germans embraced when they came back home from summer holidays, pouring into risky indoor spaces and disregarding some of the precautions recommended by experts and officials to contain Covid-19.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5oEDdt">
So Germany’s Covid-19 cases, along with much of Europe’s, <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer?zoomToSelection=true&amp;time=25..429&amp;pickerSort=asc&amp;pickerMetric=location&amp;Metric=Confirmed+cases&amp;Interval=7-day+rolling+average&amp;Relative+to+Population=true&amp;Align+outbreaks=false&amp;country=DEU~EuropeanUnion~European+Union">began rising once again</a>. It matched what experts had warned about for months: As the weather cooled and people were pushed indoors, countries needed to step up their precautions, reeling back summer freedoms to prevent a fall surge. Merkel <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53954562">had told Germans</a> that the months to follow would be “even more difficult than now.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/A0tB5l7PsIK7Oy8BPdMhgl_bdLk=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456282/GettyImages_1265522392.jpg"/> <cite>Christian Ender/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
People gather at the beach in Hamburg, Germany, on August 11, 2020.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YoSZNs">
But now, much of the country didn’t heed the warnings.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5gsCnq">
Case numbers were still low compared to worse-hit nations, but they were rising, with daily new cases roughly tripling from July to August. Officials seemed content to keep letting the virus spread at a faster rate, letting things get worse bit by bit. Some state leaders resisted anything resembling a lockdown; North Rhine-Westphalia School Minister Yvonne Gebauer, bolstered by regional cases dropping to the national average, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-merkels-bid-for-unity-hampered-by-germanys-federal-system/a-54783414">argued</a> masks in classrooms were “no longer necessary.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YBttlT">
These state leaders were backed by vocal anti-lockdown segments of the population, which <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-protests-coronavirus/a-54456654">marched in the streets</a> in August to oppose Covid-related restrictions. The initial success against the virus — and the short-term economic damage a lockdown would bring — had also <a href="https://projekte.uni-erfurt.de/cosmo2020/web/topic/politik/20-akzeptanz/">left</a> more of the public cool on the need for harsher rules.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3oovKQ">
By the end of October, the scenario Merkel warned about early in the pandemic when she explained exponential spread to a worldwide audience, came true: Daily new Covid-19 cases in Germany multiplied by seven times in the span of the month.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hrFlr6">
The success of the past few months had built complacency, and the federal system that allowed Jena to experiment with masks now suffocated further progress. The country’s 16 state governments and Merkel’s federal government couldn’t come to an agreement until it was too late, after they saw the results of exponential spread firsthand.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NmQRML">
Even then, the country’s governments by November <a href="https://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/world/germanys-merkel-says-she-is-very-worried-about-pandemic-in-berlin-521161/">only agreed</a> to what they called a “lockdown lite,” which closed bars, restaurants, and several other indoor spaces. Cases remained stubbornly high throughout November — more than triple the spring peak of Covid-19. It wasn’t until late November that Merkel finally got the 16 state governments to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/26/germany-covid-rules-will-be-in-place-for-foreseeable-future-says-merkel">sign on to a stricter lockdown</a>.
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qDZkeW-LLZHE8YD32CqfKiAa8R8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456295/GettyImages_1228980966.jpg"/> <cite>Ying Tang/NurPhoto/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Police enforce social distancing rules in front of the central railway station in Cologne, Germany, on October 9, 2020.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/N_xGJyjIOMN5qMKjdUD3MI48Ijg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456293/GettyImages_1229536921.jpg"/> <cite>Ying Tang/NurPhoto/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Shoppers during the Christmas shopping season in Cologne, on November 8, 2020.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YJyrsx">
“That’s a federalist problem,” Fabian Hattke, a public policy expert at the University of Hamburg, told me. Until later in the fall, “the heads of states did not agree on common measures — some went stricter, some went looser.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GMpfa0">
Public fatigue with Covid-19 — that coronamüde — also played a role. Based on his own analysis, Christian Karagiannidis, a researcher and ICU doctor at Witten/Herdecke University, told me that the second set of lockdowns was only “50 percent [as effective] as that from the first wave.” He added, “People are more or less fed up. They are tired. They are not adherent to the measures that were implemented by the German government.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZweOfr">
Even after the new lockdowns, Covid-19 cases spiked around Christmas and then again in early January. An increasingly strict lockdown wasn’t enough to stop the foundation that the coronavirus had been allowed to build just before the perfect time to strike.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pj9nll">
Merkel appeared to see much of this coming. As Germany prepared to reopen last summer, she <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/5/1/21239638/germany-coronavirus-lockdown-reopening-merkel">called</a> the country’s success in fighting Covid-19 at the time “fragile,” adding that Germany should be “smart and careful” in the coming months, regularly reevaluating the rules it set in place. But Merkel’s constant message of caution ultimately wasn’t enough to counter a fragmented federalist system — especially as politicians began competing to eventually replace her.
</p>
<h3 id="hSjLvp">
A power vacuum made things even worse
</h3>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Pi41u1">
In Germany, the current political era is sometimes referred to as “Merkeldammerung” — the twilight of Merkel. After more than a decade and a half as chancellor, and nearly two decades as leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union of Germany, she said in her retirement announcement that it was time for the country and her party “to start a new chapter.” Elections in September 2021 will decide the country’s new leader.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OfQfLM">
Merkel’s long grip on power had made her a defining force in German politics. But all of a sudden, the country found itself on the brink of a power vacuum. Politicians both in and out of Merkel’s party had a chance to vie for the country’s top political position. And many criticized her policies, in part to contrast themselves and bolster their own political fortunes.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="douiy3">
All of that became apparent during the week of Ash Wednesday in February, which is traditionally used by German politicians to preview their electoral messaging for the year ahead and criticize their opponents. This year, the hot topic was the country’s continuing months-long lockdown.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YDUMoW">
Armin Laschet, who had been recently elected to head Merkel’s Christian Democrat party, criticized the lockdown — <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-17/potential-merkel-heirs-spar-over-pandemic-in-campaign-kickoff">describing</a> Merkel’s push for communal restrictions as the government treating voters like “underaged children.”
</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yglC5oUoJbDqzDf4WSuz7QpcpcU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456319/GettyImages_1232399904.jpg"/> <cite>Michael Kappeler/picture alliance/Getty Images</cite>
<figcaption>
Armin Laschet, head of Merkel’s party, the Christian Democrats, criticized the government’s lockdown efforts to contain the coronavirus.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="09ASf4">
Markus Söder, who heads the Christian Democrats’ sister party and, like Laschet, is vying to lead the country after Merkel retires following September elections, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-17/potential-merkel-heirs-spar-over-pandemic-in-campaign-kickoff">fired back</a>: “Everybody who plans to profit from Merkel in September must know that these votes will only come in combination with Merkel’s policy and not by positioning oneself against it.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="B6M5dB">
Nearly a year before, Germans who turned on the news would typically see a united front from Merkel down to the local level. Now, with the start of an election year, they saw some of the country’s top politicians — and members of the chancellor’s own party — debating whether Merkel had the right idea to begin with.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZJbWhF">
Without a strong leader at the federal level, it fell more to the lower levels of government to make decisions about Covid-19 — federalism ran wild.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4vuD9F">
Yet these leaders didn’t always have fully developed visions. During the summer, Michael Kretschmer, the governor of the state of Saxony, <a href="https://www.saechsische.de/plus/michael-kretschmer-corona-sachsen-ich-will-mut-machen-5265819.html">argued</a> that the initial lockdown shouldn’t have been so strict. He <a href="https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/sachsen/keine-verschaerfung-corona-auflagen-sachsen-100.html">said</a> there would be “no tightening” of restrictions in September. By December, Kretschmer not only backed Germany’s new lockdown but <a href="https://www.dw.com/de/corona-lockdown-sachsen-zieht-die-notbremse/a-55873186">enacted</a> even tighter restrictions across Saxony, saying, “We have to bring this country to rest.” In January, Kretschmer <a href="https://berlinspectator.com/2021/01/23/germany-kretschmer-calls-for-end-of-corona-lockdown-in-mid-february/">called</a> for a February end to the lockdown. By the end of March, he at least briefly <a href="https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/lockdown-ostern-kretschmer-101.html">supported</a> a stricter Easter lockdown.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="htxLlU">
Now multiply this 16 times over. That’s the political back-and-forth that has engulfed Germany during Covid-19.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yWl0DF">
As I’ve asked experts in and out of Germany if anything could have averted the country’s recent failures, I’ve been met with a lot of shrugs and caveats. In theory, Germany may have avoided its second and third waves if the country continued to unite under Merkel — that worked in the first wave, and it’s an approach that seemed to work in much more consistent countries like Australia and New Zealand.
</p>
<div class="c-wide-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sdK-mYdwkCaSt_NaqnjbLC_UAZo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456332/202102_Germany_through_the_pandemic_Jacobia_Dahm_48.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Albert Ngwa (left) and Özlem Abbasov staff a mobile Covid-19 testing station in Berlin’s Neukölln neighborhood, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the city.
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/o_NqxSU0SRifEMTI9deKAAnbzD8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456337/202102_Germany_through_the_pandemic_Jacobia_Dahm_30.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
The mobile station has been rotating through public spaces, providing Covid-19 quick tests and general advice. Neukölln’s health department started this pilot earlier this year to bring medical care to people who might be hesitant to see a doctor.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JlbdI4">
But German solidarity had major systemic forces stacked against it: a federalist system, a political battle to replace Merkel as head of the government, and a long pandemic that fatigued populations across Europe and the rest of the globe.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JzvqtP">
Countries might be able to overcome one or two of these factors at once — Australia has a federalist system; New Zealand had general elections in 2020 — but it could be that the full trifecta is too difficult to beat simultaneously.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gUQXYh">
The crisis “became more of a cooperation problem, in which everyone has a strong incentive to deviate from a common solution,” Hattke, of the University of Hamburg, said.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6lPA5D">
Some experts also argue Germany could have better used the time it bought with lockdowns and restrictions. It could have built more expansive test-and-trace systems to handle a higher caseload before the fall. Or it could have tried to procure some of its own vaccine supply, instead of relying on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/20/world/europe/europe-vaccine-rollout-astrazeneca.html">the EU’s ultimately botched approach</a> — an approach that <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer?zoomToSelection=true&amp;time=2020-12-20..latest&amp;pickerSort=desc&amp;pickerMetric=total_vaccinations_per_hundred&amp;Metric=People+vaccinated&amp;Interval=7-day+rolling+average&amp;Relative+to+Population=true&amp;Align+outbreaks=false&amp;country=DEU~GBR~USA~ISR">has left</a> Germany with roughly half as many people receiving at least one vaccine dose as the US, and a third as many as world leader Israel, as of April 19.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7wFGxW">
“That time wasn’t used to put strategies in place that would support Germany in a second, third, or fourth wave, or whatever’s coming,” Kickbusch, of the Graduate Institute, said. “It was clear that Germany’s health system was very good — hospital beds and all of that. But Germany’s public health system was much too weak.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XrrXaJ">
As the lockdown that began in November drags on and officials <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/20/europe/germany-coronavirus-crisis-merkel-legacy-cmd-grm-intl/index.html">clash over it</a>, public opinion has shifted. Shortly after Merkel’s primetime speech in March 2020, only 14 percent of the German population called the Covid-19 restrictions excessive; a year later, 35 percent said the measures in place were too much, according to <a href="https://projekte.uni-erfurt.de/cosmo2020/web/topic/politik/20-akzeptanz/">public surveys</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Oi5cnh">
“We interpret this with the fact that politicians were less unified in their statements [and] stopped speaking with one voice,” Rolf van Dick, a social psychologist at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, told me, citing his own research on Covid-19 and public opinion. As politicians split in their public stances, van Dick added, the public “got more fragmented.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RiXZrG">
Even Merkel eventually caved. In the lead-up to Easter on April 4, Merkel and the governors had agreed to tight restrictions — discouraging domestic travel, closing down more businesses, and prohibiting larger gatherings, including in churches, from April 1 to 5.
</p>
<div class="c-wide-block">
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JnwJA3uxd4bJ63S7dqg3A8yxtfI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22456348/202102_Germany_through_the_pandemic_Jacobia_Dahm_64.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
Empty streets in Jena, as daily new Covid-19 cases in Germany remain around 50 times higher than they were last summer.
</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5ICXSr">
The backlash was fierce. Churches demanded the ability to celebrate one of their holiest days. Businesses claimed that a stricter lockdown during a typically busy season would bring financial ruin. State leaders started to buckle under the opposition, calling for a redo on the agreement.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QLyOAN">
Under all this pressure, Merkel <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/24/980869865/in-reversal-merkel-drops-plan-for-lockdown-in-germany-ahead-of-easter">revoked</a> the plan roughly 36 hours after it was announced. “This mistake is mine alone,” she said. “The whole process has caused additional uncertainty, for which I ask all citizens to forgive me.” Merkel added, “There were good reasons for it, but it could not be implemented well enough in this short time.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GzVWvX">
One year before, Merkel had been the voice of Germany on Covid-19, with news of her speeches getting families to gather around the TV to listen to what she had to say. The public and politicians followed her lead, anxious to take the cautious approach that she advocated for against the coronavirus. That unity let the country crush Covid-19 during the early days of the pandemic, with headlines <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/world/europe/germany-coronavirus-death-rate.html">praising</a> “A German Exception” and much of Germany, from restaurants to movie theaters, reopening and bustling in the summer.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pX1avN">
In the spring of 2021, Merkel was forced to apologize for her caution. Now she hopes to adjust her plan to prevent another potential surge — perhaps by <a href="https://www.thelocal.de/20210419/latest-when-will-germany-decide-on-new-nationwide-covid-19-restrictions/">seizing powers</a> originally held by the states. Meanwhile, daily new Covid-19 cases in Germany remain <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer?zoomToSelection=true&amp;time=2019-12-31..latest&amp;pickerSort=asc&amp;pickerMetric=location&amp;Metric=Confirmed+cases&amp;Interval=7-day+rolling+average&amp;Relative+to+Population=false&amp;Align+outbreaks=false&amp;country=DEU~EuropeanUnion">around 50 times higher</a> than they were for much of last summer.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dkUuGD">
<a href="https://www.jacobiadahm.com/"><em>Jacobia Dahm</em></a> <em>is an independent photographer based in Berlin, with a focus on portraiture and reportage. </em>
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rBww2J">
</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Amazon will let you pay with your palm in some Whole Foods stores</strong> -
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MSyD5MejMwrHLsOapuQzK2nNIfk=/0x0:5127x3845/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67550613/Amazon_One_image.7.jpg"/>
<figcaption>
The Amazon One pay-by-palm technology will now be available at select Whole Foods stores. | Amazon
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
And, it hopes, at other retailers’ stores in the future.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tLSOy9">
Amazon accounts for nearly 40 percent of e-commerce sales in the US today, and it takes a cut of even more online shopping by selling payments services and other technologies to external shopping sites. Now, the online retail giant is making a play to grab a piece of brick-and-mortar shopping, too — and it wants customers to literally lend a hand to do it.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9Dumxl">
Amazon on Wednesday is unveiling a new way to pay at select Whole Foods stores: a biometric technology called Amazon One that allows shoppers to pay by placing their palm over a scanning device when they check out. The new technology is now available at the grocery chain’s Madison Broadway store in Seattle, Washington. Seven more Whole Foods locations in the Seattle area will offer the payment option in the coming months.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HmAZOg">
The first time they register to use this tech, a customer will scan their palm and insert their payment card at a terminal; after that, they can simply pay with their hand. The hand-scanning tech isn’t just for Amazon’s own stores — the company hopes to sell it to other retailers, including competitors.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RY3hro">
Amazon first introduced the technology in September at some of the company’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/1/21/16914188/amazon-go-grocery-convenience-store-opening-seattle-dilip-kumar">Amazon Go cashierless convenience stores</a> in Seattle. The company had added the tech to a total of 12 stores in the Seattle area before today’s Whole Foods announcement. Recode first reported in December 2019 that <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/12/26/21037923/amazon-go-hand-scanning-patent-biometrics-whole-foods-identity">Amazon had filed a patent application for such a hand-payment technology</a>.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="X6X7x7">
In September, Amazon executive Dilip Kumar told Recode that the company expects to sell the technology to other retailers, <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/9/21171473/amazon-go-cashierless-just-walk-out-technology-retailers-no-checkout">like it began doing earlier this year with its “Just Walk Out” technology</a> — the cocktail of cameras, sensors, and computer vision software that powers Amazon Go stores. Kumar said the Amazon One pitch to other retailers is straightforward: reduce friction for your customers at checkout, thereby shortening lines and increasing how many shoppers are served along the way. The company said in a blog post on Wednesday that it was in discussions with other retailers, but did not yet have any partnerships to announce.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hAw5AM">
Amazon’s plan to license these two homegrown technologies to other retailers, whether competitor or not, is the real story: Amazon isn’t satisfied with e-commerce dominance; it wants to earn a cut of more transactions in the physical retail world, where 80-something percent of commerce still takes place in the US. So it’s building out a futuristic suite of services to court other retailers, while showcasing the technology in its own stores as case studies.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jtujqE">
One obvious question is whether retailers, many of which consider Amazon a competitor of one sort or another, will want to do business with the tech giant. Kumar pointed to Amazon Web Services, the company’s $40 billion division that leases computing power, data storage, and myriad software capabilities to internet companies big and small, as an example of an Amazon offering that attracts competitors.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NJMhqH">
Amazon will collect data on where Amazon One customers shop when they use the payment option, but it will not know what shoppers purchase or how much they spend inside third-party retail stores. An Amazon spokesperson said the company has “no plans to use transaction information from third-party locations for Amazon advertising or other purposes,” and shoppers can sign up for the service without linking it to an Amazon customer account if they choose.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="91hN8k">
Another question is whether enough people will be willing to hand over scans of their hands to Amazon in order to save a bit of time at checkout. It’s true that a no-touch payment method might be more attractive today, during the <a href="https://www.vox.com/coronavirus-covid19">Covid-19</a> pandemic, than even a year ago. But new payment methods often face steep adoption challenges, and that’s even when biometrics aren’t involved. Biometric tracking poses a host of privacy concerns, including the potential of targeted hacking or a mass data breach.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yKpj0w">
Kumar, the Amazon executive, said the more locations where Amazon can introduce the technology, the more valuable customers will find it and be willing to give it a try. That’s why the company plans to pitch other use cases beyond payments. Kumar also said Amazon is discussing with potential partners the idea of linking palm scans with building IDs to replace office ID cards, or with event tickets for stadiums or arenas.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="58xu6d">
The executive added that Amazon chose palm scans over other biometric options for a few reasons. One, he said, is that it’s not easy for a bad actor to identify a person by simply viewing an image of their hand, if that material ever leaked. Another is the uniqueness of each person’s hand. “Even identical twins have many differences in their palm structure,” he said. A spokesperson added that the images are encrypted when scanned, and then “sent to a highly secure area we custom-built in the cloud for analysis and storage.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GH4atL">
To some, the upside still won’t be worth it. “How lazy are people that they will hand over their handprints so they don’t have to take out their wallet?” my wife asked when I mentioned the new technology to her in an embargoed dinner-table discussion. But Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint-scanning tech and its Face ID face-scanning tech also seemed a little crazy at first — until they weren’t.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LGeWrz">
And if enough customers trust Amazon with the trade-off, physical retailers will face an interesting dilemma: chase the future by aligning with the most powerful tech company in retail, or stick to the present and hope their customers don’t stray as a result.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PQiMxw">
<strong>Update, April 21, 2021: </strong>This article has been updated to report that Amazon plans to introduce its pay-by-hand technology in select Whole Foods stores.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9mGQd0">
</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>IPL 2021 | SRH bowlers bundle out Punjab Kings for 120</strong> - Khaleel Ahmed (3/21) and Abhishek Sharma (2/24) shone with the ball</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>IPL | RCB hope to keep momentum going against stumbling Rajasthan Royals</strong> - The Royals bowling unit has been underwhelming to say the least.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Liam Livingstone pulls out of IPL due to bubble fatigue</strong> - The franchise said that it respects his decision and will continue supporting the cricketer in any way it can.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>MCA interference: Ankola contradicts Rajput and Kulkarni’s allegations</strong> - Salil Ankola, the Mumbai chief selector, has distanced himself from the allegations made by two of the three members of the Cricket Improvement Commit</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>IPL 2021 | Rohit Sharma fined ₹12 lakh for MI’s slow over-rate</strong> - Delhi Capitals won the match with five balls to spare in Chepauk on April 20, 2021</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Government releases COVID-19 data showing severity of victims in second wave same as first</strong> - The release of the statistics follows growing panic in the country over concerns that the second wave is somehow more powerful and could cause greater havoc.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>HC sets aside GO on cess on water use by industries</strong> - Court says to support a tax, legislative sanction essential</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Tourism forums to observe Black Day on May 1</strong> - They want easing of curbs on tourists, aid package for the sector</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Punjab government to reward those who provide information that lead to drugs recovery</strong> - The additional DGP of the Special Task Force can sanction a reward amount up to ₹1 lakh while the sum in excess of ₹1 lakh would be sanctioned by the DGP.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Law exams postponed</strong> - Karnatak State Law University, Hubballi, which has affiliated colleges across Karnataka has put off all the remaining examinations of the 5-year LL.B</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Climate change: EU to cut CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030</strong> - The EU’s climate-change goals of becoming climate neutral by 2050 will become legally binding.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>European Super League: Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli says project cannot proceed</strong> - Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli says the European Super League project cannot proceed as AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid join the six Premier League clubs in withdrawing.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Russia’s Putin warns West and claims Belarus ‘coup plot’</strong> - Tensions over Ukraine and dissident Alexei Navalny overshadowed President Putin’s national address.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Navalny’s supporters fear Russia’s Putin wants him dead</strong> - President Putin’s leading critic is on hunger strike and ahead of planned street protests they warn he could die.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Coronapas: The passport helping Denmark open up after Covid</strong> - Football fans, museums and restaurants are opening up, but Danes will have to show a corona passport.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
<ul>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Brace yourselves. Facebook has a new mega-leak on its hands</strong> - Facebook Email Search v1.0 can process 5 million email addresses per day, researcher says. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1758893">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pause of J&amp;J vaccine was the right call, say 88% of polled Americans</strong> - Poll results contradict concerns that the pause added to hesitancy. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1758844">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Everybody hates “FLoC,” Google’s tracking plan for Chrome ads</strong> - The EFF, Mozilla, Brave, Vivaldi, and DuckDuckGo say “no way” to FLoC. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1758285">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Grab a pair of recommended Anker noise-canceling headphones for $68</strong> - Dealmaster also has deals on Fitbit trackers, great wireless mice, and more. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1758202">link</a></p></li>
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hackers are exploiting a Pulse Secure 0-day to breach orgs around the world</strong> - Exploits allow state-backed hackers to bypass 2FA and breach defense contractors. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1758789">link</a></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>A sadist, a masochist, a murderer, a necrophile, a zoophile and a pyromaniac are all sitting on a bench in a mental institution.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Let’s have sex with a cat?” asked the zoophile.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Let’s have sex with the cat and then torture it,” says the sadist.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Let’s have sex with the cat, torture it and then kill it,” shouted the murderer.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Let’s have sex with the cat, torture it, kill it and then have sex with it again,” said the necrophile.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Let’s have sex with the cat, torture it, kill it, have sex with it again and then burn it,” said the pyromaniac.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
There was silence, and then the masochist said:
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
“Meow.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Edit: all you who gave this wholesome awards belong in that mental institution!
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/K15K12"> /u/K15K12 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mv66nd/a_sadist_a_masochist_a_murderer_a_necrophile_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mv66nd/a_sadist_a_masochist_a_murderer_a_necrophile_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A couple just had their first son , the husband is half Irish and half Indian , the wife half chinese and half Italian both wishes to have their son name after their heritage ..</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
After much argument they decided on the name.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Ravi O’Lee
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/damn_jexy"> /u/damn_jexy </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/muvsuq/a_couple_just_had_their_first_son_the_husband_is/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/muvsuq/a_couple_just_had_their_first_son_the_husband_is/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>A black man is driving in a Mercedes-Benz when he gets pulled over by a cop.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The cop asks him for his license and registration and begins to question him about his car. “Where’d you get the money to buy such a nice Benz?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The man replies, “I’m a specialty surgeon, I enlarge assholes.”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Skeptical, the officer asks more about the procedure. The man explains, "First you work a finger in, then two, three, until you can get your whole hand in…then you do the other and slowly pull and work the rim until you can get a foot in for more leverage, then both feet and pull and stretch it until it’s about 6 feet.
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The cop asks, “What the hell do you do with a 6 foot asshole?”
</p>
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
The black man replies, “Give it a badge and a radar gun”.
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/MudakMudakov"> /u/MudakMudakov </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mv67il/a_black_man_is_driving_in_a_mercedesbenz_when_he/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mv67il/a_black_man_is_driving_in_a_mercedesbenz_when_he/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>My wife says we should split up because I keep pretending I’m a detective</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
I said good idea, we can cover more ground that way
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/sewn_of_a_gun"> /u/sewn_of_a_gun </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mumtqa/my_wife_says_we_should_split_up_because_i_keep/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mumtqa/my_wife_says_we_should_split_up_because_i_keep/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
<li><strong>You know when you get that urge to eat something just because it’s there?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
<div class="md">
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
Anyways, lost my job as a gynecologist today!
</p>
</div>
<!-- SC_ON -->
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/flyredditguy"> /u/flyredditguy </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mva0qk/you_know_when_you_get_that_urge_to_eat_something/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/mva0qk/you_know_when_you_get_that_urge_to_eat_something/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
</ul>
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